Susan Corwin, Former Gourmet Housewares Show Manager, Dies at 76

Susan Corwin with Angelia Singleton, Gourmet Housewares Show Assistant Manager; and Dorothy Belshaw, GLM Senior Vice President

Susan Corwin Miller has died in Reno, Nevada, following a short battle with cancer. She was 76.

Corwin served as show manager of the GLM-owned Gourmet Housewares Show from 1987 until 2008. As show manager, she was responsible for all management, marketing and operations for the annual event, and she oversaw the show’s relocation from its home in San Francisco to interim venues in New Orleans, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Corwin was well-known and highly-regarded in the gourmet industry and worked hard to ensure the show’s positioning as a platform dedicated to meeting the needs of the independent specialty retailers. She was passionate about the show and the industry. She also loved good food, fine wine and was an avid cook herself.

George F. (Jeff) Little, II, said, “When GLM bought Susan’s former employer, National Fairs, she managed the transition to a new and different corporate culture with professionalism and effective leadership. She always embraced the GLM mantra that staying close to the customer is the secret to business success. Susan was known and respected by virtually everyone in the Gourmet Products Industry, and she was a mentor to many young people in the Exhibition Industry. Her personal approach to business relationships created hundreds of friends for her and GLM.”

According to Dorothy Belshaw, President Gift + Home Décor, International Market Centers, “The first tradeshow I really worked was The Gourmet Show in San Francisco in May of 1992.  Susan was the show manager and she was larger than life.  Over the next 20 years, she would become a valued colleague, a mentor and a friend.  Susan taught me that managing a tradeshow is more than drayage, floorplans and booth signs.  It’s about immersion in and passion for the industry you serve.  And Susan had both.  She ate farm to table, entertained in her kitchen, and drank Paso Robles Pinot before they were in vogue.  She taught me how to julienne a carrot, dice an onion, make a pate choux (still working on that one…), bone a chicken, and open a bottle of wine in 3 seconds flat (with the Rabbit ™ of course).  She lived a life rich with friends, family, humor and plenty of good food.  It just was too short, and will  I miss her, as will many.”

Following her retirement from GLM in 2008, the Michigan native moved to Reno, Nevada, to be closer to family. At the time of her death, she was working as a real estate broker for Reno’s Trans-Action Realty, Inc.

Corwin is survived by her husband, Don Miller; daughter Jenna Moscoso; son David Corwin; son-in-law Arturo Moscoso; and daughter-in-law Kenyatta Player-Corwin. She is also survived by three grandchildren Adrianna and Vittoria Moscoso; and Kamdyn Corwin.
At the request of the deceased, no funeral services will be held.